A luxury hotel in Pasay opened its lines to the guests of its Easter Sunday activity following online complaints about how the event was conducted.
Sofitel Manila on Saturday promoted its “La Familia” event scheduled for April 9, describing it as a “full day of fun Easter adventures.”
“Sing along to exciting musical performances and let the little ones enjoy fun and interactive games. Take a journey of culinary discovery at El Mercado: Epicurean Market, where an array of international and local delights await,” the post on Facebook reads.
Its comment section ballooned a day after the event, with adults airing several complaints about the activity.
A Facebook user claimed that the meet-and-greet and character parade was “already finished” by 11:50 a.m., despite being reassured by the hotel that it would start at noon.
Among “La Familia’s” highlights was kids meeting characters from the popular Disney musical film “Encanto.” These were adults dressed in the likeliness of the characters.
The online user also said there “were no food and drinks available for toddlers three years old and below, who made up the majority of the population.”
“What’s even more frustrating is that they ran out of loot bags and handed us a paper bag of substandard items not fit for children. Instead of fun and age-appropriate items, we were given a couple of soft drinks and chips. This is not acceptable,” she wrote.
The online user additionally claimed that the event was “overcrowded” and it was “impossible to move around.”
Another Pinoy complained about the food, alleging that the burger was “smaller than McDonald’s” and that the chicken “was so hard to eat.”
“Water was served in a small cup, that’s why the line was very long, as people kept coming back. Should have offered bottled water. Separate lines for adults and kids, as if kids would get food by themselves. No signage, which caused confusion, and parents had to queue twice,” she commented.
The Facebook user also alleged that the loot bag contained a “canned diced tomato” which she said was not interesting for the kids.
Another Filipino aired similar complaints.
“It’s a waste of money. We ended up leaving as it was too crowded for a toddler to do the egg hunt. Unenjoyable at all. The queue to get the food was a joke and we [couldn’t] even get seats! WE DESERVE A REFUND!” she commented.
A Facebook user likewise claimed that the schedule of the event was not followed.
“We stepped out for a moment to get some rest and eat. When we returned at 4:30 p.m., the event was packing up already. It was done already?! Though the advertised time is that it would be until 6 p.m. and we were clearly informed that the musical would start at 5 p.m., we still missed the musical because the whole event ended at 4:30 p.m.,” she wrote.
The Facebook page administrator of Sofitel has been responding to the comments since Tuesday. It said:
Thank you for raising your concern regarding the La Familia Easter Egg Hunt event. We hear your comments and these shall serve as our drive to improve. We are opening our lines to properly address them in the best way possible.
You may reach out to our Director of Guest Experience via [email protected] — kindly allow our team to provide further assistance to this matter. Thank you.
Last Sunday, different establishments such as hotels conducted various children’s activities to celebrate Easter. These included egg hunting and other kid-friendly gimmicks like face painting.
Apart from Sofitel, other accommodations that held activities were the Manila Hotel, Coro Hotel, Fairmont Makati, Rizal Park Hotel, Diamond Hotel, Vivere Hotel, and the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Manila, among others.
